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The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. Credit: PARALAXIS via Shutterstock

Brazil’s Indigenous affairs minister, Sonia Guajajara, has called on international governments and the global gold industry to acknowledge its role in supporting Brazil’s illegal gold trade. 

She called on foreign governments to exert greater control over gold imports, while Guajajara seeks to impose penalties for companies engaging in the illegal gold trade within Brazil. The administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has made stopping the country’s illegal gold trade a priority, following former President Jair Bolsonaro’s encouragement of the practice of so-called “wildcat” mining. 

The main import markets for Brazilian gold are Canada, India, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the UK. Around half of Brazil’s gold exports are estimated to be illegally mined. 

A study by Instituto Escolhas, a non-profit, found that 98% of the gold trade registered as originating from Indigenous Lands in the Amazon. The fact that many of these lands are not open to mining is compelling evidence of illegality. 

Guajajara told the Financial Times: “The international community has a fundamental role in the fight against [wildcat mining]. Especially because the majority of companies [buying Brazilian gold] are from other countries.”

The Mexican parliament’s lower chamber has opened discussions on a proposed overhaul of the country’s mining laws, following intense disagreements. 

The new proposed laws would include the shortening of concessions from 50 to 15 years, the tightening of rules for water permits and a requirement for miners to give back at least 10% of profits to communities.

The Environment and Natural Resources Commission has submitted the draft reforms to parliament, as is required for the United Commissions on Energy and Commerce and Competitiveness to begin ruling. 

The proposed law seeks to establish concession-granting mechanisms which take place through public tender and forbids concessions being granted on protected areas. 

The reform was initially proposed on 28 March but was quickly met with criticism by industry leaders. Jaime Gutierrez, the president of the Camimex mining association, criticised the move as “completely unviable”.

Volkswagen has announced that it will join the partnership of Vale, Ford and Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt to create an electric vehicle (EV) battery ecosystem in Indonesia. 

Indonesia’s minister of investment Bahlil Lahadalia announced that the German car manufacturer would be partnering with the other companies in a series of joint ventures in the country. Alongside this they will help to develop the supply of raw materials. 

The agreement will see Volkswagen capitalise on Indonesia’s vast quantities of nickel. The south Asian state is the world’s leading source of the metal that forms a vital part of EV batteries. Volkswagen will take their nickel from a mine owned by Vale, which is among the country’s largest nickel producers. 

This comes off the back of Ford joining Vale and Huayou in the joint development of a $4.5bn nickel plant in the country.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has already pledged to improve the standard of Indonesia’s nickel operations, saying: “The most important thing is monitoring.”

Indian coal production could be set to increase, as power company NTPC has drawn up plans to expand its coal operation in response to another year of huge growth in energy consumption. 

The state-owned utility provider has sanctioned the construction of 4.5GW worth of coal plants across a trio of locations. This is part of a concerted effort by the Indian government to increase domestic coal production to cope with a rise in electricity demand. 

In February, government statistics showed an increase of almost 13% in India’s energy usage across the previous 12 months, far above what was predicted. This might be attributed both to an increase in activity post-covid, as well as climate change necessitating further consumption. 

Last year, India’s Central Electricity Authority told the government it expects year-on-year growth in electricity consumption of 7.2% over the next five years. It has already planned a massive increase in coal capacity over that period, of which this is the first step.

Chile’s mining minister Marcela Hernando has claimed that the country’s copper production will increase in coming years, despite recent decline. 

Speaking in an interview with Reuters, the minister claimed that government discussions with mining firms over planned tax and royalty changes were helping to alleviate industry concerns. 

Hernando blamed a drop in mineral grades, project delays, accidents and logistical problems for the “production slump”. She added that there are nearly $74bn in planned mining investments in Chile, many of which are in copper. 

Chile produces more copper than any other country, accounting for 28% of global production. Mining accounts for half of the country’s exports and 11% of its GDP. Chile saw a 5.3% year-on-year copper production drop last year, the third consecutive year to see a drop. 

Hernando said: “When we make projections, we try to be as conservative as possible, and in this context we prefer to stay with market expectations”.